Ah, those silk, cashmere and linen pieces of art that men dread to wear in 2017. If you're a menswear freak like me, then you see them as a beautiful thing. If not, you probably see them as a burden. Its ok, because I view cooking, ironing and taking out the trash as burdens. That doesn't excuse the fact that they're things that you kinda have to do.

The Attitude

Ties aren't very functional, in fact they don't really have a purpose outside of being a statement piece. Yet, they're so functional 'socially' that they simply can't be ignored. I wouldn't want my doctor to be a man who had a 'lose the tie' attitude. I wouldn't want a lawyer to represent me in court who has the 'lose the tie' attitude either.

A school of thought is becoming popular that anyone who wears a tie (or let alone a full suit) is a try-hard and cares too much about what other people think. This mindset is a symptom of problems I'm qualified to dive into, but I will say that when your self respect is at a certain level, you dress and carry yourself a certain way by default. Dressing well is not for how others will view you, but how you already view YOURSELF.

A rebellious teenager will wear dark clothes, piercings and goth themes because she views yourself as a rebellious teenager. An athlete will wear sweats or a creative person will wear unorthodox clothes because he views himself as an athlete or an unorthodox personality.

It's not about the tie but about the attitude; the attitude of going the extra mile.

The Good Ol' Days

The origin of the necktie goes back to King Louis XIII who had a scarf created to tie the top of his uniform. This was the first form of neck tie created and was actually a requirement for royal gatherings since King Louis XIII fancied it so much.

Since then, we've seen several changes made to ties, which is why today's man has hundreds of options as to how he wants to express himself sartorially. The minor tweaks that have been made throughout history were very small decade-by-decade. Now, if you put a modern neck tie next to a tie from the 40's, there's a HUGE difference. Every tweak that was made in between the two ties' histories are used as inspiration for what you see in retail stores and online today.

So if you choose to not wear a tie (ever), you either lack personality or have one but are afraid to express it to the world.

An endangered species with good news

Despite the cynical nature of ties going out of style, even the most avant-garde of brands are bringing back the neck tie. Vetements, Martine Rose, Prada and Balenciaga sent neck ties down the runway for AW17.

Will ties be cool again?

Derwin "DJ" Hargrave is a menswear enthusiast whose career began in high school after discovering his passion for helping men dress better. Since then he has made men's style simple for thousands of men in person and over the internet. You can follow him on Instagram and Snapchat @djhargrave